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Monthly Archives: May 2012

A client recently asked us to produce a viral video that is funny. The only other direction was the video also had to tell the viewer how the client’s service works. Now this was a tall order and a fun challenge.

Our leading concept involved turning the company’s logo into a mascot (i.e. a person in an animal costume), doing ridiculous things and than recording the real reactions of people around the silliness. As a result the feeling one gets from the client’s video would be closer to Dollar Shave Club then it would be to one of the new videos we created for Single Throw Internet Marketing…. and that is the simple choice of tone.

One of the first questions I ask a new client is how would you like to be perceived by your audience?

Simply put, do you want to be perceived as whimsical and fun or do you want to come off as serious and buttoned-up?

So here are some things to think about to help you shape the tone of your video:

Is your audience looking to be informed or entertained? And does the audience want to interact with your brand in the process? Now the end video can easily be a combination of all of the above but one of these will be the priority. Their (the audience’s) priority should influence the tone of the engagement.

What is the current perception of the brand? And are you happy with that perception? Changes can inspire a new tone. This is really about following through on your brand. Think of the conservative JC Penney from 10 years ago vs. the current hipper JCP.

Think of the tools you have at your disposal By tools I am talking about music (i.e. classical music vs. hip hop), animation (i.e. cartoons vs. complex renderings), the pace of editing, even the particular environment that you record the video in can help shape tone (i.e. If you are an event company a video shoot at a bar could work. If you are a medical group that might not be the right tone for your image).

I will be posting a “video article” for Streaming Media Producer shortly on this subject. The focus will be to help content producers use the tools at their disposal to shape the tone of the piece.

Please reach out to us at info@madbearproductions.com if you would like a link to that video when it is completed or if you have any questions about tone in general we would love to hear from you.

5 Tips from a Web Developer About How and Where to Find Your Video Audience

Great content drives social media and SEO success, and great video content performs very well both in social media settings and for SEO purposes. But one person’s trash is another’s treasure, so be sure your video content fits your audience.

That means knowing your audience and knowing where to find them. Here are a few things to think about when deciding where to post or promote your videos.

Your Website
Unless you’re already an information hub for your audience, your website isn’t where you’re most likely to find your audience congregating, but it is where you’d like to lead them. Post your videos on your site and be sure that wherever else you post or promote them, you make it clear that there’s “more good stuff just like this” back on your website.

Social Media Sites
Are there groups, pages or other areas on Facebook, LinkedIn and other large social networks like Google+ where your audience gathers? These might be good spots to post or promote. Just be sure you spend some time getting to know the unwritten rules of a community before you post, perhaps even approach the group moderator.

You can also create your own presence on most of these sites. Again, check to see if your customers are already there. The lines between business and personal have blurred to a great degree, so Facebook is no longer ” strictly personal” to LinkedIn’s “all business,” for example. But you’ll generally find B2C more frequently on Facebook than you will B2B.

Don’t forget to create a channel on YouTube! More searches are done on YouTube than any other site other than Google itself.

Industry Associations and Magazine
Trade groups and trade magazine still frequently have active user groups on their websites or on email listservs. Though these are moving more and more frequently to social media spaces, they are still worth looking into when they are run independently. Again, get to know the rules – written and unwritten – before diving in.

Bloggers and Podcasters
Cultivate relationships with bloggers and podcasters who influence audiences in your industry or target audience. Getting them to notice and link to your content, or extending an invitation for you to guest post, is a great way to extend your reach. Look for influencers with complementary messages to yours.

Customers Come First
Be sure that you’re choosing channels based on customer needs and marketing goals and not just because “everybody else is doing it.” Making it easy for your audience to find your videos makes success much more likely, whatever channels you choose.

Guest Expert: Andrew Schulkind, founder of Andigo New Media, is a 16-year veteran of the interactive media industry, specializing in online communication strategy. He can be reached through Andigo’s website at www.andigo.com.